Sydney Elders Digital Exhibition
The SLNSW Sydney Elders Project was conceived to translate the physical exhibition into a digital experience, while retaining and respecting the spirit of the original installation.
The online exhibition needed to tell the same stories, extend access beyond the gallery and create an enduring presence for the exhibition content.
The Sydney Elders exhibition brought together four Sydney Elders, Traditional Owners who shared their stories of Sydney and how they continued the legacy of their ancestors through their contribution to the city.
The exhibition presented Sydney through the Elders’ eyes and offered a unique insight into Aboriginal Sydney.
Design that honours the content
The Elders needed to remain the primary focus of the online experience. The design approach centred on intimacy, respect and presence, creating the sense that each Elder was speaking directly to the listener.
The onsite exhibition used circular storytelling and layered voices to show the Elders in conversation with one another. Our role was to translate that experience into a digital format with care, so the online exhibition could retain the tone, rhythm and spirit of the original work.
Extending physical spaces into digital experiences
Lumos worked with the SLNSW Exhibitions team and Indigenous Engagement team to understand the underlying vision, context and intent of the exhibition, so the digital experience could translate the work faithfully.
We used research and benchmarking into digital storytelling and exhibition experiences to shape a rich narrative environment that respected the exhibition content and kept the focus on the Elders.
The result was a circular side-scrolling website that allowed audiences to move continuously through the four Elder profiles, with no single story taking precedence.
The design extended access for remote audiences and gave visitors greater depth than could be displayed within the physical exhibition, including links to SLNSW collection items and related artefacts.
The responsive design used larger screens to create a rich interactive experience, while adjusting the layout and navigation for mobile so audiences could move through the stories with ease.
Connecting audiences to SLNSW collections and stories through a content-rich online exhibition that extends public access.
